Kasich forgives LeBron James

Ohio’s Republican governor has jumped back on the LeBron James bandwagon after the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar’s dominant performances in the ongoing NBA Finals.

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A Kasich spokesman told POLITICO Thursday that the governor is no longer upset about James’ famous 2010 decision to skip Cleveland for their conference rivals, the Miami Heat.

“[Gov. Kasich] thinks he’s been a great father and member of the community,” Chris Schrimpf, the Ohio Republican Party’s communications director, wrote. “And he loves to see the Cavs winning.”

Word of the governor’s forgiveness came before the Cavaliers are scheduled to face the Golden State Warriors in the fourth game of the NBA Finals. LeBron James has dominated the first three games, breaking a Finals scoring record and leading the Cavaliers to a 2-1 lead.

The Cavaliers’ performance has drawn praise from both Democratic and Republican Ohioans, including Kasich, who has sent numerous Tweets using the “#ALLinCLE” hashtag, but thus far the governor had not publicly mended ties with the Akron-born star, whose “King” nickname refers to the King James royal lineage.

Kasich ducked questions about the NBA All-Star and four-time MVP’s on the 2010 gubernatorial campaign trail and then mocked him as governor in 2011. But initially, after James made his high-profile and heavily criticized decision to join Miami — “taking my talents to South Beach” — which was broadcast live on cable TV across America, Kasich initially stayed above the fray.

That summer, as Kasich was running to unseat Ohio’s Democrat governor Ted Strickland, he told Alan Colmes on his radio show, “the last guy I worry about is LeBron James.”

“I’m not singing in any chorus for LeBron James” to keep him in Cleveland, Kasich said.

The Ohio Democratic Party turned Kasich’s words against him in an ad, followed by the words “Congressman John Kasich doesn’t know Ohio and doesn’t care if LeBron leaves.” The video was posted on OhioansAgainstLeBron.com.

When the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, Kasich signed a resolution declaring all of the Mavericks’ “organization, friends, family and fans as honorary Ohioans” for the day of June 14, 2011. The resolution contained another indirect jab at James, praising the Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki for “keeping his talents in Dallas, thus remaining loyal to the team, city and fans for whom he played his entire career.”

Then, over the summer of 2014, when James decided to return to Cleveland, Kasich began to warm up to the King.

“Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio,” James wrote in a heartfelt op-ed in Sports Illustrated declaring his return to Cleveland.

Kasich responded, but was unwilling to fully embrace the state’s fallen hero. “What a great week for Cleveland, and it looks like Ohioans created another job,” Kasich Tweeted at James, hash-tagging the Republican National Convention that was scheduled for 2016 in the Buckeye state.

Throughout the 2015 NBA Playoffs, Kasich has Tweeted praise for the team’s impressive run without referring specifically to James.

“The Cavs are showing the world some Ohio-style tenacity,” he Tweeted following the team’s game 2 overtime win, neglecting to mention LeBron James’ stunning triple-double.

Ohio’s Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown was more candid about his love of James, tweeting a picture Wednesday of his office wall’s framed LeBron James jersey. Likewise, former Governor Ted Strickland retweeted a video of LeBron dunking during warm-ups on Tuesday.